This invention relates generally to injection molding and more particularly to a cooled socket holder which seats in a cavity plate and receives an elongated heated nozzle.
It is well known to seat an injection molding nozzle having an integral electrical heating element in a cooled cavity plate. An example is shown in the applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,671 which issued Dec. 9, 1980 and shows cooling conduits extending through the cavity plate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,613 to Tsutsumi which issued August 18, 1987 shows cooling fluid passages extending through the nozzle itself. U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,001 to Bright et al. which issued Nov. 11, 1986, the applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,636 which issued Mar. 27, 1990 and Canadian patent application serial number 585,023 to Mold-Masters Limited filed Dec. 5, 1988 all show a cooling passage extending through a mold insert extending around the forward nose portion of a nozzle. With the development of smaller sized injection molding components and the increased demand for more temperature critical materials, the location and size of heating and cooling in injection molding systems have become even more critical to successful operation. This is particularly true for systems using temperature assisted or thermal gating. It is also desirable to provide a cooling arrangement which is economical to make with provision for nozzles of different lengths. While these previous arrangements are satisfactory for some applications, each of them is different to a considerable extent in one or more of the above areas.